Tierra Patagonia in Torres del Paine, Chile

With its 400,000-plus square miles of mountains, forests, pampas, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, Patagonia is synonymous with eco-adventure. This rustic-mod 40-room hotel and spa—designed by Chilean architects Cazú Zegers (a past winner of Buenos Aires’s architecture biennale), Roberto Benavente, and Rodrigo Ferrer—sits on the shores of Lake Sarmiento at the entrance to Torres del Paine National Park and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, its gentle curves evoking the windswept dunes that surround it. 011-56-2-370-5301; tierrapatagonia.com

Photo: Pia Vergara

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Tierra Patagonia

Green Cred: Tierra boasts low-energy LED lighting, high-grade insulation, and a layout that does away with the need for air-conditioning in summer and requires little if any heating in winter. But here, green also means local: Zegers sourced all exterior materials from nearby, including the stone used at the building’s base and the Lenga wood paneling (from a sustainable rain forest, of course). Much of the furniture and materials used inside, in interiors by designers Alexandra Edwards and Carolina Delpiano, also have local provenance. And as part of the reforestation efforts following January 2012’s Patagonia fire, the hotel plants a tree for every guest.

Photo: Pia Vergara

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San Camp in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana

This “lodge” rises from a palm oasis surrounded by the sunbaked earth near the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, the largest system of salt flats in the world. Designed by fifth-generation bush-guide Ralph Bousfield and stylish safari expert Catherine Raphaely, the camp's six custom-made white canvas tents blend seamlessly into the otherworldly landscape. (Each tent has its own bathroom, with hot and cold running water.) Handcrafted furniture by Botswana artisans complements antiques—vintage maps, Persian rugs—from Bousfield’s own collection. 011-27-11-447-1605; unchartedafrica.com

Photo courtesy of UASC: San Camp, Botswana

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San Camp

Green Cred: Beyond the extraordinary access it provides to the wilderness—as well as the resident meerkats and brown hyenas—San takes seriously the environmentalist axiom to leave no trace behind. At the end of every dry season, the whole place is packed up, with barely a footprint remaining. In season, Bousfield insists that jeeps drive in each other’s tracks, to reduce land disruption, and solar panels provide enough energy to power almost the entire site. As for the tents, they were built with only sustainable Zimbabwean teak, harvested in accordance with guidelines from the Forest Stewardship Council.

Photo courtesy of UASC: San Camp, Botswana

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Park Hyatt Hadahaa in Gaafu Alifu Atoll, the Maldives

This private-island hideaway in the Indian Ocean eschews the rustic-chic aesthetic of so many equatorial escapes. Instead, its 50 villas—14 of which are built over the water, many with their own pools—exhibit a thoroughly modern sense of style. Referencing the wooden construction of the traditional Maldivian boats called dhoni, SCDA Architects of Singapore—the firm behind the Armani Residences in Marassi Egypt, the W Bali, and Shanghai’s Mandarin Oriental—created sleek, clean-lined pavilions that are almost as visually arresting as the aquamarine waters that surround them. 011-960-682-1234; maldives.hadahaa.park.hyatt.com

Photo courtesy of Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa/ecoLuxury Retreats of the World

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Park Hyatt Hadahaa

Green Cred: Hadahaa was designed to be as environmentally unobtrusive as possible, leaving both the local vegetation and the surrounding coral reef untouched. Its water, energy, and waste management practices, as well as its construction and ongoing commitment to the local community, have earned it Silver EarthCheck Certification and the 2012 Green Good Design Award. There’s even a marine biologist on staff, who works to uphold the resort’s EarthCheck status.

Photo courtesy of Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa/ecoLuxury Retreats of the World

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h2hotel in Healdsburg, California

Sonoma County: Land of wine, cheese, and, now, a smartly designed eco-conscious boutique hotel. With an undulating roofline inspired by the rolling hills of the surrounding wine valleys, h2 opened as a little green sibling to nearby Hotel Healdsburg, with just 36 rooms and suites. There is, however, a creekside pool and an intimate restaurant, Spoonbar, where the new head chef—late of Napa’s French Laundry—turns out local-market-driven contemporary American fare. Works from local artists, commissioned in collaboration with Oakland’s Swarm Gallery, adorn the property. 011-707-431-2202; h2hotel.com

Photo courtesy of h2hotel

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h2hotel

Green Cred: H2 earned its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification last year, winning points during construction for its use of Forest Stewardship Council–approved and toxin-free materials and its recycling of 85 percent of construction debris. Other green gems include: a living roof to filter rainwater and insulate, solar panels to heat the pool and provide hot water, and complimentary bikes for riding between wineries, not to mention the bamboo floors and organic cotton linens. All told, the h2 uses nearly a third less energy than would be expected for a hotel of its size.

Photo courtesy of h2hotel

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Six Senses Con Dao in Con Son Island, Vietnam

This scuba divers’ mecca brings Maldives-style luxe to the Con Dao archipelago, a series of 16 islands about 150 miles off Vietnam’s coast. Sitting on the archipelago’s largest island, the resort’s 50 villas, each with a private infinity pool, possess a mod look that wouldn’t be out of place in Palm Springs—all light wood, sliding glass window walls, and dramatically cantilevered rooflines. Two restaurants, a signature spa, and butler service complete the retreat, which was designed by AW2, the Paris-based architecture firm also behind the country’s Nam Hai resort. 011-84-64-383-1222; sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao/

Photo: Six Senses Resorts & Spas

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Six Senses Con Dao

Green Cred: Six Senses’ company mission is to make all its properties carbon neutral by 2020, and Con Dao, having won the 2011 Green Good Design Award, is well on its way. The building materials came from local sustainable sources, and the pavilions have been sited to maximize airflow and reduce reliance on air-conditioning. Such careful positioning also left the environment largely untouched—a requirement given that the vast majority of the island is a national park, including its 50 square miles of marine reserve.

Photo: Six Senses Resorts & Spas

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Hotel Topazz in Vienna, Austria

The Hotel Imperial it’s not, but this new member of the Design Hotels consortium is the first green hotel in Vienna to approach the grande dame’s luster. Designed by award-winning local architects BWM Group and Michael Manzenreiter, the building’s distinctive noirish look was inspired by the Viennese secessionist movement. The deep recesses of its distinctive oval windows become Biedermeier-style divans in each of the 31 rooms, the custom-made furniture and textiles reference the Vienna Workshop, and the chrome-nickel-and-marble bathrooms draw on Deco-era glamour. 011-43-1-532-22-50; hoteltopazz.com

Photo courtesy of Design Hotels

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Hotel Topazz

Green Cred: In creating the hotel, the design team abided by the strictest green standards, incorporating such energy-saving materials as triple-paned tinted windows and LED lamps. The eco savvy continues at the restaurant, Bloom—in Topazz’s sister property, Hotel Lamée, just across the strasse—where the menu celebrates regional cuisine, organic ingredients, and eco-friendly wines.

The Park Hyderabad

Green Cred: The Park Hyderabad received LEED Gold status in 2011 for its energy savings, water efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, and use of recycled materials. The building’s sexy metal screens reduce light pollution and lets in enough sun to reduce guests’ reliance on electric illumination. Those keeping it green while on the go will find charging points for electric cars and dedicated parking for bicycles.

Photo courtesy of the Park Hyderabad

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Saffire Freycinet in Coles Bay, Tasmania

When designing this 20-suite retreat in the Tasmanian wilds, Robert Morris-Nunn, a past winner of the country’s National Environmental Architecture Award, sought to create forms that reinterpreted the natural landscape even as their low profiles quietly disappeared into it. The curve of the UFO-like main building’s roof—made of local-wood beams covered with a silvery high-tech material called Polymea—reflects the slope of the distant Hazard mountains, while the suite pavilions’ lines mirror waves breaking on the nearby beach. Inside, quiet earth tones and natural woods pull from the palette of the forest surrounding the hotel. 011-61-3-6256-7888; saffire-freycinet.com

Photo: George Apostolidis

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Saffire-Freycinet

Green Cred: Clustering its buildings on a small percentage of its acreage, the hotel brought in some 30,000 native plants to restore the site, a former campground that had suffered extensive damage. It then increased its eco-operations by composting, recycling, limiting light pollution, collecting and conserving rainwater—part of an effort to “drought-proof” the entire area—and using energy-efficient windows, insulation, lighting, and air-conditioning. Local farms and purveyors provide the kitchen with much of what its own on-site garden can’t produce.

Photo: George Apostolidis

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Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada

Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the exterior and Adam Tihany the interior of this urban resort—boutique by Vegas standards at 392 rooms—which rises 47 stories above the Strip. Part of the recently opened City Center complex, the resort joins shops, casinos, and other sinful diversions, all designed by an impressive roster of names (Norman Foster, Rafael Viñoly, and Daniel Libeskind among them). For the Mandarin’s part, its sleek glass exterior belies more sensual amenities within: Tihany’s subtle Asian accents, star French chef Pierre Gagnaire’s inventive cuisine, and the spa’s pampering treatments, to name just three. 702-590-8888; mandarinoriental.com

Photo courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

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Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas

Green Cred: Vegas may be an unlikely place for a green oasis, but City Center has earned six LEED Gold certifications, including one for the Mandarin, which has proven to be 34 percent more energy-efficient than required and to use almost half as much water as would be expected. The windowed façade, made of sustainable materials, cuts down on heat absorption even as it lets in natural light. Inside, the hotel earned high marks for its use of CFL bulbs and toxin-free furnishings. The hotel’s sushi bar, meanwhile, only serves sustainably caught fish.

Photo courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

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Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa in Easter Island, Chile

The latest eco-chic arrival on Easter Island—the enigmatic atoll 2,000 miles off the Chilean coast—captures the unique architecture and culture of the local Rapa Nui population. Set near the island’s only town and based on the layout of a traditional ceremonial village, the 75-room hotel’s curving, grass-roofed pavilions offer ocean views through floor-to-ceiling windows. The lounges, reading room, and lobby are modeled on Rapa Nui homes, which look like upside-down canoes, while one of the three restaurants resembles a snail. Chilean interior designer Paula Gutiérrez introduced Polynesian prints, custom furniture, and pops of bright color to complement the abundance of natural materials. 011-56-2-957-0300; hangaroa.cl

Photo courtesy of Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa

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Hangaroa Eco Village Spa

Green Cred: Endemic materials form the hotel’s pavilions both inside and out: Cypress branches provide structure; the sinks are sculpted of volcanic rock; the walls, floors, and the soaking tubs are crafted of clay. Hangaroa reduces its impact on a sensitive and remote ecosystem by using LED lights, recycling water, and serving organic and locally sourced food. Plus, more than 75 percent of the staff is Rapa Nui, demonstrating the hotel’s commitment to the well-being of not only the land, but also its people.